The Mille Lacs County (MN) Sheriff’s Office will issue Glock duty pistols for its 37 officers, replacing the old policy where officers could use their pistol of choice as long as those fell within certain guidelines.

Having one standard department-issued firearm for every deputy will better enable the department to give a deputy who has discharged their firearm a replacement. Another advantage of the policy is that there is only one type of ammunition to purchase and keep in stock, Lindgren noted. Still another advantage is only having to have one armorer in the department. An armorer is a person skilled to tear down a firearm and repair it. Only needing to have one in the department will result in cost savings, Lindgren said.